Davos is a damned nuisance, Vodafone's shareholders might feel. A flurry of "AT&T to bid" stories emerging from Switzerland prompted the Takeover Panel over the weekend to ask the US company to clarify its intentions towards Vodafone, which will soon be handing out the winnings from the sale of its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless.

AT&T's answer: we do not intend to make an offer. Cue a 6% fall in Vodafone's share price, which became a decline of almost 4% by the end of the trading day.

The more modest reaction looks the right one. First, under the panel's rules, AT&T has only ruled itself offside for six months, which is hardly a great impediment given that a deal of this complexity would take some planning. Second, if AT&T is serious about making a big splash in Europe via an acquisition, Vodafone, with its sprawl of operations across the UK and the continent, still looks likely to be a top name on any shopping list.

In short, AT&T's statement doesn't really change anything. The US firm may still bid, just not in the next six months; or it may not bid at all. As you were.